•A poison is any substance that when ingested, inhaled, absorbed or applied to skin or produced within the body in relatively small amount, injured the body by its chemical action.
•Poisioning represents the harmful effect on the human body of accidental or intentional exposure to toxic amounts of any substance.
TYPES OF POISONING:
• Ingestion
• Inhaled
• Injection
• Absorption
N.B: Effect of Poisoning maybe Local, Systematic or Both. It may occur immediately or several hours or even days after exposure.
CAUSE OF POISONING:
• Chemical
• Household (Eg. bleach, kerosene)
• Industrial (Eg. methanal, Ethylene Glycol, Cyanide, Arsenic)
• Pesticides (Eg. organophosphates, DDT, rat poison)
• Therapeutic Drug Overdose (Eg. paracetamol, aspirin)
• Toxic Plants (Eg. poisonous mushroom)
• Bite and Stings of Venomous Animal (Eg. snakes, scorpion, bees)
SYMPTOMS:
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Upper abdominal pain
• Jaundice
• Difficulty Breathing
• Palpitations
• Skin Rashes
• Scanty Urine
CLASSIFICATION OF POISON:
CLASSIFICATION OF POISON:
On the basis of their chemical properties and method of isolation from tissue and other biological fluids:
